Jeffrey Epstein lied about his charitable donations, and the medie lied for him

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Press releases from Jeffrey Epstein's foundation paint the wealthy registered sex offender as a generous donor to large American hospitals, top research universities, and children's and youth charities in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where he owns an island.

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But Epstein's largesse was much smaller than what he represented, according to an NBC News review of public records and interviews with officials at the institutions named as recipients of his gifts. In reality, Epstein's contributions — whether personal or via his foundation — were a drop in the bucket compared to the donations of other wealthy philanthropists such as Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. In press releases for the Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation, Epstein claims he donated to more than 100 organizations after pleading guilty to a state charge in a deal with federal prosecutors in Florida and registering as a sex offender in 2008. From 2015 to 2017, Epstein's foundation, Gratitude America Ltd., which was first revealed by the Daily Beast, gave away $1.84 million to charities around the country, according to federal tax filings. Epstein also said he gave $30 million to Harvard University prior to his 2008 plea deal.

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But some of the alleged recipients of Epstein's donations said they had not received any donations or they disputed the size of his gifts. In addition, the Chronicle of Philanthropy keeps a running database from 2006 of major gifts more than a million dollars and has no record of any gifts from Epstein, according to staff writer Maria DiMento. NBC News reached out to 56 charities that were listed as grant recipients in multiple press releases from Epstein's foundation or his foundation's IRS filings between 2010 and 2017. Thirty-two organizations did not return requests for comment. Of the 24 organizations that responded, 10 said they had no record of any donations from Epstein or Gratitude America.

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